The Dawn of Time
by wizards-inmyattic
Summary: Prequel to Forever Young. How did Mira and Rose meet? This is the story of the chance meeting of a pair of five-year-olds (along with a six-year-old James who just so happens to REFUSE to get off the slide) and the simple playground that brought them together.


_**August 25, 2008**_

"Mama, how long will we be at the park?"

Romilda Vane-Rivers looked tired. Her two-year-old daughter Natalie was expertly balanced on her hip, and her five-year-old girl Mirabelle followed behind as the three females navigated their way through the park.

"I don't know, baby. Go play," she instructed. As Mirabelle ran off happily, Romilda fitted Natalie into the swing.

Mirabelle went to the slide, her pudgy legs moving quickly as she ran. However, her little mission was cut short, as another girl stood there, trying to push a boy down. They seemed about five and six, respectively.

The girl had frizzy red hair swept back into a quick ponytail, and electric blue eyes darting back and forth merrily. The boy at her feet had black hair and hazel eyes. Mirabelle could only see these for a second, as the boy had his eyes clenched shut.

"JAMES!" the girl screeched. "I wanna slide! Go down!" She stamped her foot impatiently, ignoring Mirabelle.

"Hullo."

The girl's head whipped around. "James, you gotta go, 'cause there's another girl waiting." The boy, James, ignored her. He slid around so his legs were hanging over the slide, and swung them merrily.

"No, Rosie. I wanna stay up here!" He turned around and stuck his tongue out.

"I'm Rose. That's James. We're cousins," the girl said to Mirabelle. She nodded as solemnly as a five-year-old could.

"My name's Mirabelle, but I don't like that. I just like Mira, and that's all," Mirabelle answered. Rose nodded back and turned to James. As a last resort, she gave him a hard kick to his back, sending him wailing to the bottom of the slide. Mirabelle and Rose slid down after James.

Hearing the boy's cries, two women ran over. One had the same frizzy hair as Rose, only rich brown in color. The other had bright red hair loose around her shoulders as she picked James up and dusted him off.

"That's James's mommy," Rose said, pointing. "And that's my mommy."

James stopped sniffling enough to say, "I call her Aunt Her-my-oh-nee."

Mirabelle scanned the playground for her own mother. "Mine is over there with my little sister. Her name is Natalie. I think she's smelly."

"My sister's smelly too," James agreed. He pointed to where a man sat cradling a slumbering baby girl. "She's one and her name is Lily. She just poops and sleeps. My brother is in the sandbox, 'cause he is only four."

"I have a brother too," Rose announced. "His name is Hugo. He's the same age as Lily, and smells worse than Lily. He drools, and mummy moved him into my room."

The frizzy-haired woman smiled at Mirabelle. "What is your name, lovebug?"

"Just Mira."

"It's nice to meet you, Just Mira."

The two girls giggled. "Her name is Mirabelle," Rose corrected. "She doesn't like it. So I call her Mira. We're friends now."

"How old are you, Mira?" the redheaded woman asked.

Mirabelle counted on her fingers. "I'm five years old! My birthday is August the seventh. I went to the zoo!"

"I'm five too," Rose countered.

"I'm six," James boasted, puffing out his chest proudly. His mother ruffled his hair with a large smile.

Mirabelle's face lit up with recognition as she pointed at the woman. "I know you! You're Ginny Weasley. You're the seeker for the Holyhead Harpies," she said, pleased to have remembered her mother's Quidditch magazines. "My mum likes you. She says you're good. I don't like Quidditch very much. It seems dumb."

"Does not!" Rose said.

"Does too!"

Romilda walked briskly over to the crowd of people, and grabbed Mirabelle's hand. "Mirabelle, darling, what did I tell you about talking to strangers?" she asked sternly, frowning at the girl as she held Natalie.

"Romilda Vane!"

"Do I know you?" Romilda asked. She squinted. "Oh, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley? It _has_ been a long time."

"Well, it's Hermione Weasley, now."

"And Ginny Potter."

"In that case, I'm Romilda Rivera."

The three women chatted, and the three children talked as well. "I think my mum knows your mum," Rose said.

"Uh-huh," Mirabelle agreed. "She's talked about them. My mum says that your mum doesn't need to be on a chocolate frog card."

"She does too!"

"She said that all your parents ever did was break all the rules and get points for it. She said Albus Dumbledore was a-a-a- oh I can't think of the word," Mirabelle whined. "But it wasn't very nice."

Rose pinched Mira's arm. "My mum must be nicer than your mum," the little girl whined unhappily. "My mum's saved the world. She's told stories about it."

"Liar!"

"Did your mum defeat a basilisk?" James asked. "My Dad did."

"I don't care," Mirabelle said. She hit Rose back.

The women were starting to notice the children by this time. "Mirabelle! Why did you hit- Hermione, what's your daughter's name again?"

"Rose."

"Mirabelle! Why did you hit Rose?"

"She said bad things about you, mum!" Mirabelle complained. She folded her arms angrily. Rose stuck her tongue out again.

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized. "Rosie isn't usually like this."

Rose looked sheepish at her mother's words. "Sorry, Mira," she mumbled. Mirabelle's face brightened.

"Me too."

The women resumed their own conversation. Ginny looked at her watch. "Merlin's beard, I need to leave. I have a meeting with the editor of the Daily Prophet over lunch; he's thinking about giving me the paper's Quidditch column."

"Gin, congratulations!" Hermione said happily. She smiled, and scrawled her phone number on Romilda's wrist. "We'll have to keep in touch. We should have a playdate."

"Sounds great!" Romilda answered. The women parted. Ginny and Hermione went to retrieve their husbands, sons and daughters from various parts of the playground. Rose turned to Mirabelle.

She sighed. "It looks like we're going to have to be friends."

"Yup."

"I kind of like you already," Rose continued. "But not when you say stuff about my mum. Don't do that, okay?"

"Alright," Mirabelle agreed.

James tugged Rose's arm. "Rosie, Aunt Her-my-oh-nee says you need to go."

"Hold on James. Are we friends?"

"Always," Mirabelle answered.

Something changed that day. It had been a day that Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Harry thought they were just taking their kids to the park. It had been a day that Romilda had off work and decided to treat her daughters to a little bit of free time. But the day held so much more. That was the day Rose Weasley met Mirabelle Rivers. The day a life bond was formed. The day she became her first, best and only friend.


End file.
